On the road Egan

Paul Saitowitz

Susan Egan -- she of the silver screen, small screen, Broadway stage,

concert halls and beyond -- doesn’t seem to get tired.

She lives on both coasts, tours the world and speaks with so much

“aw shucks” enthusiasm that it’s easy to think she just started doing

this.

The truth is, she’s been doing Broadway for the better part of the

last decade, she’ll release her third album -- “Coffee House” -- on

Sept. 7, and she’s starred in five films in the past year, including

“13 going on 30” with Jennifer Garner.

“I have a lot of interests, and they’re all a lot of fun to me in

different ways,” Egan said. “I feel really lucky that I am able to be

involved in so many things. The grind of doing eight Broadway shows a

week can be tough, so it’s nice to break things up.”

The role of the actor on the stage compared to the screen is an

extension of the spirit of the task, and that is what Egan feels

keeps her on her toes.

“Film is really an actor’s medium,” she said. “You can convey your

emotions as you really would in life. On stage, you have to project

so the people in the rafters can hear you ... it’s a different

craft.”

As is singing.

“Coffee House” is a compilation of Egan singing the works of

classic/folk rock stalwarts like Joni Mitchell and Cat Stevens,

juxtaposed with some new, unreleased tunes written by some of today’s

biggest Broadway composers. The album is an amalgam of the direction

the productions on the Great White Way seem to be taking musically.

“A lot of the newer musicals incorporate a lot of rock, and I

wanted to explore that,” she said.

Egan, 34, plans on touring with a pianist and a guitarist to

promote the release of the album and will make a stop at the Orange

County Performing Arts Center on Aug. 28.

“Playing live and singing the songs is completely different to

being on stage on Broadway,” she said. “On Broadway, you’re playing

someone else, and you’re wearing a mask of sorts ... it’s not the

real you. At my concerts, I get much more personal, and I relay

personal stories and feelings.”

The tour will take the Seal Beach native as far away as Iceland

and Europe, but a stop on her home turf can sometimes be the most

daunting.

“There’s a lot of pressure when I play Orange County because a lot

of my friends and family are in the area, and I want to give them the

best performance that I can,” she said.

While it’s back to Broadway after the tour to close “Cabaret” as

the final Sally Bowles and then a lead role as Millie in “Thoroughly

Modern Millie,” Egan sees herself moving more in the direction of

film and TV in the next few years.

“I’m getting a bit older, and the biological clock is ticking,”

she said. “I’d like to work in something steady. On Broadway, you’re

always working at night and on the weekends, so it can be tough.”

Egan will perform in Founders Hall, and the evening will also

serve as the album-release party for “Coffee House.” Each person in

attendance will receive a copy of the album.